Welcome to the Policy Today Archives

“Governments Like Clocks, Go From the Motion Men Give Them”

31 July 2017

Welcome to the archives of Policy Today, a historical treasure chest of articles and ideas that dominated the political, economic, and social worlds in the first decade of the new millennium. We launched the magazine in the summer, 2004, when President George Bush was seeking his second term; and published our last edition in July, 2008, when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were battling for the Democratic presidential nomination, and John McCain arose from the middle of the pack to win the Republican nomination. The country wasn’t as politically divided as we are now, and PT did its best to stay the course and focus on the issues as they presented themselves.

We published out of San Francisco so looked at both the Nation and California. The leading issues of the day included health care, education, and immigration. Sound familiar?.

Lead Story

Energy Policy: The Dark Night?

23 July 2008

The Bat-Signal

Having saved the world from itself over 60 years ago and put a man on the Moon 25 years later, Americans are a proud lot. But, time waits on no one. As the country's vaunted financial infrastructure reports over $400 billion in write-offs and credit dries up, the transportation infrastructure watches its airlines charge for carrying a suitcase while bridges collapse, and its social security infrastructure sinks slowly into the abyss of insolvency, dare we ask, “what's next”? Try energy. Meeting America's energy needs and moving toward a low carbon future look increasingly distant.

This article could as easily be about the financial or transportation infrastructure as it is about energy. Or education or healthcare or immigration. We're reasonably good at fixing specific problems, considerably less adept at developing policy over broader areas. The reasons are many but one is key: our central government has sought—and failed—to fix and do everything. Blame it on the media, personalities, or simply good intentions gone bad. But, debate, compromise and principled consensus have become ever more difficult in Washington. The end result is the country's real challenges remain unsolved.

Feature Story

HEALTHCARE: A (Universal) Healthcare Plan that Works

12 June 2008

In 2006, Massachusetts passed the Health Care Reform Act, the first comprehensive health insurance plan in the United States. The plan requires all individuals to have healthcare, with the State stepping up for those unable to afford it. It creates a “Connector,” an agency that helps individuals to find an affordable plan, and allows individuals to opt out—for a while—with a set of defined reasons and a penalty clause.

Two years later, it’s working. Yes, “working.” PT spoke with MA State Senator Richard Moore, one of the program’s architects, to find out why.